can the big promise he makes on vaccine be delivered? the stunning discovery in wuhan about the months before confirmed case back on the front lines of health workers we met and th struggles they face. more than 530,000 americans lost to covid, the faces and the names we have lost also, tonight andrew cuomo, the groping allegation now referred to police and the new call for him to resign. prince williams breaking his prince william breaking his silence responding to meghan markle and harry allegations of royal racism >> announcer:this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt reporting tonight from washington, d.c. good evening the rumble of the disease and sickness and deaths literally hit home finally on this day one year ago the w.h.o. officially declared coronavirus a global pandemic and nothing had been the same we look back at what we have lost and how we have changed and we look forward to the end and explore the terms of victory. the view from the ground where every vaccination slowly tilts the odds in our favor. why teachers are being moved up in line for shots and i will share my interview with the cdc's director the nation marks covid one year later. >> reporter: it has been a year of isolation of missing loved ones and struggling to make ends meet and a year of lines for food and tests and vaccines it is a year of lost and heartbreak how can you begin to mourn more than half a million lives? >> we lost our son, our 21-years-old son >> reporter: we could not have envisioned any of this last january as cases climbed in wuhan and our team there was forced to evacuate >> it is about 4:00 in the morning, we received words there is going to be a full quarantine of the city. from there, covid ricochets around the globe italy became an early hot spot and so did washington state where the virus toured through this nursing home for shadowing on the toll it takes on our most vulnerables, claiming the lives of 170,000 residents long-term care facilities including sheila koran's husband. >> i want more transparency and i want people to own up to their responsibilities, i want him back >> reporter: the race for vaccines and treatments was already underway >> as i saw at regeneron headquarters treatments would come faster than anyone could have hoped or predicted. back then they were still months away of our focus of uncertain time of how to stay safe >> what should we be conscious of walking through our newsroom, i had no idea it would be one of the last days would buzz with activities within a week, new york descended into an eerie quiet. hears only by the sound of sirens schools closed shelves restricted to basic necessities. travels ground to a halt only just now beginning to rebound. so many essential workers put themselves at risk for the greater good from meat processing plants to america's highways >> the truckers are coming people >> reporter: of course our doctors and nurses fighting a battle that often fell unwinnable we cheer on our healthcare workers every night. so many of them told us they are exhausted and overwhelmed. >> if i infect my husband or my four-year-old daughter who i have not hugged or kissed in weeks now. it will be my fault. >> reporter: icus fell to capacity mobile morgues appeared on the streets of our cities and minority communities the most hit. >> reporter: we met the captain back in april. >> you are waking up to deal with death >> reporter: he's now going door-to-door vaccinating the hardest to reach people >> easy as that, right >> reporter: you have been on both sides of this compare to what you are going through and delivering now delivering vaccines. >> it is a beginning we are at a >> at the beginning we were at a high-pace and it was really do or die moment. going from that fear to excitement of the vaccine has been a nice change >> reporter: as we inch closer to normalcy, we do so unsure of when it will end, will it be a day or sudden moment or a gradual leap of faith? how and when should we reopen >> reporter: more students finally returning to school many are struggling after a year of remote and blended learning >> reporter: it could take two more years to recover, the estimated 22 million jobs lost. >> we have to choose paying our car note and keeping a roof over our head >> reporter: the sheer amount of need could feel impossible to comprehend >> reporter: you have a parking lot filled with people that's going to pick up meals for christmas. just in time for the holidays came news we can all celebrate. this is a historic moment the first truck carrying the vaccines pulling out of the pfizer plant escorted by u.s. marshals >> reporter: after a rocky roll-out production is up, president biden promising enough supplies to vaccinate everyone by late may. >> reporter: how far do we have to go to say life is normal >> i think we'll need to get to that ever precious herd immunity >> late fall in time for the holidays of 2021 we'll be able to see low rates of infections. >> reporter: we are already seeing the effect of the vaccines on the numbers and lives. at the west bay assisted living home in rhode island, the 98-year-old, had not seen her family since she contracted covid and lost her husband, bob, to the virus >> we would say i love you and good night, i miss that so much her son and his wife were given the all clear to visit. >> what a good boy you are. >> reporter: her hug of a glimpse of what we all look forward to >> he's a joy. >> reporter: as we move into a hopeful phase of this battle, one of the health officials at the forefront of the effort is dr. rochelle walensky, i spoke with her a short time ago. dr. walensky, let me start asking you about this anniversary of what you thought then and now about our future >> this was quite a year i remember where i was on a friday morning when i got a call from our lab that we had a first case at our hospital in boston. it just been an incredibly -- hard year and i am just looking forward to a much, much brighter and hopeful year ahead. >> let's talk about that hope and the messaging coming from the cdc and other health agencies we have got these wonderful vaccines far more effective than anyone imagined and the latest guidance from the cdc that if you are vaccinated we want you to stay-at-home and in small groups are you being overly cautious here >> i think we are trying to take initial steps. we have to be humble with this virus. every time we felt we had it under control, we had an enormous surge i am excited about these new vaccines, i am encouraged of what we can do we just need to be humble of what this virus can do >> you are still not recommending travel right now. why? >> every time we have a surge in travel we have a surge in cases our cases continue to come down, we look for ward to revisiting again. >> march and april are such important critical times. you have this hyper transmissible virus that could surge after spring break and we are scaling up vaccinations so very fast. we want to give those vaccinations a chance to overcome and not let it surge again. >> reporter: in 60 seconds new insights into the possible origin of the coronavirus, our exclusive reporting coming up. president biden signed that $1.9 trillion covid relief bill today. kristen welker is at the white house. the president plans to get a new vaccine timeline tonight in his address of the nation. >> reporter: lester, tonight president biden promised by may 1st, all americans will be eligible for the vaccine. the question is can he follow through? there has been mix-messaging of the timeline the white house vows to send out that $1,400 as soon as this weekend.d out that $1,400 as soon as this weekend. they say they would have supported a smaller bill targeted only co they say they would have supported a smaller bill targeted only covid relief but argues this bill balloons the benefits and spent too much on non-related covid items. non-related covid items. >> 64 million americans have received at least one dose tom, who can get the shot at this point and really depends on where you are geographically >> reporter: it varies state to state and county to county here is a quick snapshot at the state level anyway in florida, 65 and older can get the vaccine and new york is 60 and older. next week is 55 and older in georgia and 50 and older in texas. in alaska, anybody 16 and older right now can get the vaccine. every state is prioritizing teachers trying to get them back into the classrooms. of course as you know states are right now dropping their requirements and trying to reopen but the concern is that could lead to another surge in cases over the coming weeks and months lester >> tom, thank you. now to china and the mysterious origins of covid, could it come from a lab in wuhan? our keir simmons with exclusive details with the members of w.h.o. investigative team >> reporter: still so many origins of kai russ in coronavirus in china this members from the w.h.o. team who were just in wuhan. >> did some researchers get flu in the fall of 2019? >> there were occasional illness because that was normal occasional illness beca there was nothing that stood out. how many researchers >> several researchers inside the wuhan institute became sick in 2019. became sick the lab researchers tested tested negative for sar covid. the evidence does not negative for sars covid- the evidence does not point to a lab leakleak. >> reporter: a 300 page joined report with china will be published. the w.h.o. team was never given proper access and has to clear its report with chinese scientists, "greatly compromising the scientific validity of its findings >> reporter: letting the w.h.o. scientific v team in demonstrates its openness the biden administration continues to question china's transparency lester >> keir simmons this evening, thank you. the allegations from a sixth woman against new york governor andrew cuomo has been referred to police. a female aide accused cuomo groping her last year at the governor's mansion cuomo denies touching any women. prince williams breaking his prince william breaking his silence. william say the royals are not a racist family. up next for us, how the heroes of the front lines getting help a capsule a day visibly fades the dark spots away. new neutrogena® rapid tone repair 20 percent pure vitamin c. a serum so powerful dark spots don't stand a chance. see what i mean? neutrogena® when heartburn takes you by surprise. fight back fast, with new tums naturals. free from artificial flavors and dyes. ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ excuse me ma'am, did you know that liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need? thank you! hey, hey, no, no, limu, no limu! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ struggling to manage my type 2 diabetes was knocking me out of my zone, but lowering my a1c with once-weekly ozempic® helped me get back in it. ♪ 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fit another patients in this emergency there were balances lining down the streets. >> reporter: what happened in queens ravaged by the virus and virus and ppe and ppe and staffing shortages stretching healthcare to their limits >> reporter: now people flocking to many of the once overwhelmed hospitals for vaccines and also emerging, the monumental task of helping healthcare workers deal with their trauma. the new covid relief bill set aside $40 million for their mental health. >> i think it is only going to get worse. think it is only going to get worse. >> reporter: the scar >> reporter: the scar lingers for dr. moreno >> every time i come to work my son cries, multiple hugs and anxiety of me coming to work. they think i am going to get sick >> reporter: dr. chris capner works in the e.r., covid took both of his parents. in the e.r., covid took bot >> it has been tough on multiple levels but there is resilience >> reporter: he should know, gabe gutierrez, nbc news >> they deserve our thanks then and now. no country has endured more heartbreaks than ours, miguel almaguer on some of the lives lost almaguer on some of the lives lost. there is n there is no metric that capture the lost of the nation, no words to ease the pain of the funeral never held in the final good-byes never shared shared. a beloved walker, a beloved philadelphia police officer. >> my husband was the love of my life and he made me know that i was the love of his. >> reporter: a year of heartbreak left so many families with a lifetime of grief. bill mantle left the room a little brighter when he entered it >> i liked his smile and his eyes crinkled. >> reporter: too many daughters lost their mothers >> she always got up every morning and she always had a smile on her face. >> reporter: too many mothers children. children. >> she's my >> she was my butterfly. >> reporter: covid took grandparents and children >> he was kind and funny and a jokester >> reporter: jennings, a nurse in oklahoma says her husband and mother were dancing in one week in and died the next. >> i could not save my own family >> reporter: 529,000 americans are gone every number is a name and a story. ocean of flags, rivers of roses and paper cranes symbolizedlized those we lost and those we've lost and a reminder that they are not alone and we can grief together we can grief together. before he passed away, he gave away his daughter. >> reporter: tonight one father's wish as too many families before he passed away, salman watsy gave away his daughter >> reporter: tonight one father's wish as too many families say good-bye. miguel almaguer, nbc news >> we honor those lives tonight. we'll take a break, up next, some reflections about this year lactaid is 100% real milk, just without the lactose. so you can enjoy it even if you're sensitive. yet some say it isn't real milk. i guess those cows must actually be big dogs. sit! i said sit! introducing voltaren arthritis pain gel. the first full prescription strength 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trulicity. we have all we have all experienced this year from one another, together in our fear and despair and now our hope i can tell you now that on many nights that i can barely fathom the words coming out of my mouth. >> americans have surpassed 100,000 deaths those we lost topping 500,000. no doubt like many of you how of you how against such loss we still manage to put one foot in front of each other wondering how against such loss we still manage to put one foot in front of each other and carry on as tractor trailers became more on our streets, families denied the basic rights of saying good-bye and lives becoming points on a rising curve. we have faced unimaginable threat and we are wondering will i be next? some of us saw the comfort of denial, others embrace the denial, others embrace the evolving of science. we cheer for o denial, others embrace the ever evolving of science. we cheer for our heroes in scrubs and our everyday heroes who kept us moving and kept us fed and supplied words like efficacy and antibodies and mrna became words of everyday conversations. we applauded that first vaccine shot, the first glimmer of hope but before long we were jeering the slow roll-out and failing to stop and think how remarkable achievement it had been nine think how remarkable achievement it had been nine months for months for the first vaccine and these may in many ways be the hardest days how we once so badly throw caution to the wind and our masks as well. but in 12 months, this we learned for certain, it is the coronavirus that rights theghts the rule. give it an rules. give it an inch and it takes a mile maybe this time thanks to those shots will be a step ahead of it >> that's "nightly news," join savannah guthrie and me for nbc special covid one year later life after lockdown at 10:00 eastern. thank you for watching everyone, right now at 6:00, should we be concerned about another covid surge? >> i didn't expect spring break, leading into graduation, et cetera. >> differing opinions. an update on the 75-year-old asian man attacked near lake merritt and the new details we're learning about the suspect. an officer shot a man in the middle of a busy intersection in danville. we talk to a witness who watched it all unfold and talked about the moments that led to the gunfire. the news at 6:00 starts right now. thanks for joining us, i'm jessica aguirre. >> i'm raj mathai. you may have seen it, within the past hour, president biden spoke from the white house. it was one year ago today the world health organization declared the coronavirus as a pandemic. tonight, mr. biden laid out his new timeline for getting americans vaccinated and kids back into classrooms. he says every adult, regardless of your age, over 16 in the united states will be eligible for the covid vaccine by may 1st. however, because of supply. everyone won't be able to get that shot until may 31st. the president wants most k-8 schools to reopen within the next 50 days. >> for all of you asking when things will get back to normal, here is the